


Ice Dancing

by kronette



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, christmas 2013
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-20
Updated: 2013-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-05 07:19:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1091138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kronette/pseuds/kronette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After discovering a snow-covered ice planet, Lister decides they need shore leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ice Dancing

"Hey, a planet!" Lister shouted joyously as he brought up the local scans. His elation started to fade as Rimmer read off the reports on the planet's atmosphere. 

"Icy surface extends several meters below ground to a cooling core, with snow drifts as high as five meters. Three-fourths Earth gravity, temperature 2C, lightly falling snow. Wind out of the southeast at 10mph." Rimmer sat back with a wistful sigh. 

That, more than the report, drew Lister's attention. "Something on that planet interest you, Rimmer?" he asked, genuinely curious. 

To his chagrin, Rimmer shook himself of his softened features, returning to scanning the planet as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "No indications of life signs, debris or habitation of any kind. Not worth checking out." 

Lister backed away from his console and twisted his chair to face Rimmer. "Hang on, what about recreation? We haven't been out in _Starbug_ in weeks. Maybe it'll be good to stretch our legs." 

He saw the briefest of hesitations before Rimmer shook his head. "Nonsense. We have a ship six miles long; we don't need to step foot on an alien planet for exercise." 

Lister leaned forward, catching Rimmer's eye. "I didn't say exercise; I said _recreation_. How about we try some ice fishing?" 

Rimmer's gaze shifted to the readouts. "No fish." 

Lister rolled his eyes. "Snowball fight, then. It's been ages since I've seen snow. And AR doesn't count," he forestalled Rimmer's protest. "I want to feel real snow beneath my feet, all right, Rimmer?" The hesitation lasted longer this time and he leaned forward eagerly, practically resting his chin on Rimmer's console. "Come on, it'll be fun. We'll throw some snow at Cat and watch him freak out. We'll make snow angels. If the ice is sturdy enough, we can go ice skating." He inhaled sharply as Rimmer's face lit up at his last suggestion, then quickly shuttered into a scowl. 

"I'll concede to this excursion under one condition," Rimmer warned. 

Lister couldn't stop his grin, despite Rimmer's ominous tone. "Yeah? What's that?" 

"I get out on the ice first. Purely as a precaution to test that it's safe," Rimmer added hastily.

His grin faded to a soft smile. "Whatever you want, Rimmer." 

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Kryten fussed with them as they prepared to go out in the lightly falling snow. "I wish you would bundle up more warmly, sirs. We've only been studying the weather patterns for a few hours, and while they've remained steady, they could change into a raging snowstorm at a moment's notice." 

Lister, Rimmer and Cat all rolled their eyes toward the ceiling of _Starbug_ , but it was Lister who spoke. "Kryten, we're not going on a hike across the planetoid. We're only going a few steps outside to the ice." 

Kryten began to arrange biscuits onto a tray. "That's another thing, Mr. Lister. What is the purpose of walking on frozen water? The density versus…"

Rimmer held up a hand, stopping Kryten's monologue. "Kryten, we won't be walking on the ice; we'll be skating on the ice. With these." He held aloft his pair of skates. "I'm an excellent skater and I'll take full responsibility for our safety." 

Kryten's mouth froze open. "You will?"

Lister and Cat both turned to Rimmer, identical expressions of surprise. "You will?" they chorused. 

Rimmer gave them all an incredulous look. "Of course I will. Haven't I always taken charge and protected you from the horrors of deep space? Aren't I the man you come to when there's a problem to be solved?" 

Without thinking, Lister shook his head. "No, Rimmer, you're not." He backtracked hastily before Rimmer could change his mind. "But if you're willing to stick your neck out for us now, that's fine. That's great. Lead the way." He stepped back from the hatch and allowed Rimmer to go down first. 

He and Cat were bundled in the standard issue Space Corps snowgear, though Cat had added Bedazzling and piping to his parka to give it that extra flare. Rimmer wasn't affected by the cold, so he was only wearing his blue uniform. Lister watched as Rimmer stepped quickly toward the edge of the ice, his skates dangling from one hand. 

It took him a bit longer to catch up to Rimmer, as he wasn't as sure-footed in the drifting snow, so by the time he got to the ice, Rimmer was tying his skates. 

"Come on, you lazy bones! Last one on the ice is a dead fish!" Rimmer crowed as he stepped onto the ice – and his arms started pinwheeling to keep him upright. 

Lister held out his hand to help steady Rimmer and found himself being pulled onto the ice as Rimmer spun around. He yelped as he lost his footing and they both went down, landing in a heap. 

All the wind was knocked out of him, so he had no breath to steal as he looked up at Rimmer on top of him, his eyes snapping with excitement and his cheeks flushed with the cold and something else. 

"Sorry," Rimmer murmured, not sounding sorry at all. 

"I thought you could skate?" Lister admonished quietly, not remorseful in the slightest. 

His blush deepened. "Did you want to listen to Kryten prattle on about the dangers of an unknown planet?" 

Lister grinned. "Nope." 

"Hey monkeys, that's not how you skate!" Cat yelled to them, and they turned to see Cat leap into the air, twirl and land on one foot, leaning over into a beautiful backward spiral. "That's how it's done." 

Rimmer shook his head while Lister chuckled. "Trust Cat to be perfect in everything he does." 

"I'm not into perfect, myself," Rimmer said quietly as he stared down with _something_ shining from his eyes. 

Lister knew he was lying on ice, but he couldn't feel it through the coat and the warmth covering him. He slid his hands up to Rimmer's shoulders, the corners of his lips tilting up in a smile as he watch Rimmer's expression shift into anticipation. 

"Are you cold?" Rimmer asked, his breath making a fog between them. 

There was nothing of concern in Rimmer's voice, but there was _something_ again. Something that Lister knew quite well. "My ears," he stated, then waited to see what Rimmer would do. 

He gasped as Rimmer leaned down to breathe gently against his ear, then sucked the lobe into his mouth, sending an altogether different type of warmth throughout Lister. 

Rimmer's voice was deeper as he murmured in his ear, "Anywhere else?" 

His head spun with possibilities. "Me nose," he ventured, to see how Rimmer reacted. 

He started as a cold hand slipped beneath his neck, still wet from the ice it had been resting on. His eyes closed as Rimmer bent down, but he only pressed a soft kiss to the tip of his nose. 

His eyes opened and he stared dizzily up at Rimmer's face, so open and raw it shook him. "Me lips," he breathed, his gaze dropping to Rimmer's parted lips. 

He kept his eyes open as Rimmer leaned down, moaning at the first touch of Rimmer's lips to his. His eyes slid closed as his mouth opened beneath Rimmer, the heat of his tongue sliding along Rimmer's until he was shaking. 

He licked his lips and dropped his head back to the ice, not surprised when he touched Rimmer's hand instead. Rimmer's eyes were dark and shining with anticipation. He couldn't feel Rimmer's hair through his gloves and it irritated him. He wanted to play in those curls, to tease them out of their tight control – much like what he wanted to do to Rimmer. 

"Easy, Rimmer," he murmured with a smile. "We've got the rest of today to spend on this planet; how about we play for a bit before we play for a bit?" he teased gently. 

He felt the breath hitch in Rimmer's chest. "Race you to the other end of the ice?" Rimmer asked as he pushed himself to his feet, offering Lister a hand. 

Lister kept Rimmer's hand in his as he slid unsteadily to his feet. "I need to put me skates on first." They were somewhere back in the snow, dropped when he'd tried to stop Rimmer from falling over. It seemed ages ago, though it was only a few minutes. 

Rimmer spun around and skated backwards, leading Lister to the edge of the ice and helped him onto the snow. As he stood on the ice, Lister eyed him. "Rimmer, did you just skate _backwards_?" he asked with a knowing air. 

Another flush highlighted Rimmer's cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold. "Er, no?" 

Lister chuckled and shook his head. "Next time you want a snog, how about just asking instead of getting me laid out flat on the ice?" 

As he bent down to dig out his skates, he swore he heard Rimmer ask, "What about just laid out flat beneath me?" 

He located his skates and sat on the ground to pull off his boots, ignoring Rimmer's comment. When he'd gotten his laces tied and struggled to his feet, he took Rimmer's outstretched hand to steady himself before stepping onto the ice. "How about you laid out flat beneath me?" he whispered before pushing away from Rimmer and flailing about, getting his legs beneath him as he skated away. 

"Wait, what? Lister, what did you say?" he heard Rimmer calling as Cat smoothly slid past him. 

He chuckled again. He'd never been on ice skates in his life, but he was beginning to see the appeal. He heard Rimmer coming up behind him and started to skate faster, wanting to get Rimmer's heart pumping as hard as his was.


End file.
